Here are a few bits and pieces to start your day.
– The WaPo profiles Fred Thompson’s dysfunctional campaign that reads exactly like that Jerry and George network pitch of a show based on “nothing.” (And Mrs. Thompson comes across as a creepy version of a screech owl. Momma is not gonna be happy…)
– Rachel Paulose? Oh, criticism of her is all overblown..nothing to see here. Except for the multiple IG investigations and her miserable staff, that is, just for starters. EricBlackInk has more.
– Via Lindsey at Majikthise, this interview at Talking Dog with Martha Raynor, a lawyer who has represented Gitmo detainees, is an excellent if not frustrating read.
– When you couple it with this from Digby on the idiocy of rabbit-hole logic, you’ll need much more coffee.
– Scott at LG&M attempts to parse Berman via Yglesias, and it comes down to this: “I’m rubber and you’re glue” from Berman. Ahhhhh, another example of Beltway Wisdom. Excellent.
– Jim at Making Light wants to know to whom exactly Giuiliani is campaigning? Which is a good question, actually. Perhaps ignoring the actual voters is all part of his grand “expectations game” scheme.
– Emptywheel has a few questions about the GOP and their crackberry and e-mail habits.
– Finally, Matt Stoller at OpenLeft has some thoughts on where we’ve been, who we are and where we go from here.
What’s catching your eye in the news and on the blogs this morning?
[Coffee pix via ph0t0(free Burma!).]
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morning Christy!!
Morning Miss Christy – actually, I just got back from the dentist, so absolutely zip has caught my eye this morning. You certainly have given us enough to get started with (and I may as well pour two cups of coffee for this post…grumble, grumble..),
Good morning Christy!
Good Morning Christy.
I am going to a meeting with the national campaign manager for John Edwards this afternoon and should have a chance to pose several questions.
Do any firepups have any questions that I should pose? Thanks
Morning all. Coffee is fresh…
Jim, have a great meeting. Let us know how it goes, will ya?
Good morning Christy, thanks for the morning roundup to go with my first cuppa.
Good morning all
California’s peeps are not happy with Di-fi
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..72342.html
Jim Clausen @ 4
Will he close Gitmo, restore habeas corpus, and keep us out of the next insane war with Iran? Thank you.
I’ll be interested to see what everyone else thinks of the Thompson campaign piece. It was an odd one…not exactly flattering. And the weirdest thing is that it’s all about Thompson’s campaign, and they don’t realy talk much about Thompson at all. It’s written as though he’s a sort of ackowledged figurehead that they front out for events. *g*
G’morning Christyfrom the BlueState, where the news is that a temperature rise in the bay that is home to our fish and fishing industry is wreaking havoc on species and ecological relations between them.
But it is raining, so we are better off than our friends in GA from the late-nite post.
Anyone willing to speculate why the NYT would do a ’she’s a nice girl that Pulhouse whatever you think na na a booboo’ at this time, when it is obvious she has lost her creds in Congress and has no supporters left in the DOJ. Lost cost make nice to show balance effort?
‘Morning, Christy, Firepups!
Nuthin’ catching my eye yet, save for the so-sad word that Gore’s office has told Draft Gore effort to wind up shop. [sigh] See Rec’d Diary at DKos.
Spending bill means more talk about Iraq before they probably bow to Bush and fund it.
I’d like to see some letters to Mukasey about him supplying papers that Gonzo withheld, starting with the RNC emails that don’t fall under EP by any stretch of the imagination.
How did Guiliani get so crazy? He was a decent mayor and was fairly level headed. What the hell happened? He’s gone totally loony.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 9
Well, he IS, Christy — they plug him in every morning to recharge and then wheel him out. *g*
Jim Clausen @ 4
Will he stop the U.S. sponsored terrorist attacks within Iran?
here’s what’s catching my mind not so much my eye;
it doesn’t make any kind of sense that pelosi is not taking this administration out of office, she knows that’s why she was elected, she knows she might loose her seat because she refuses
then we have a few democrats claiming they want to allow more lawlessness in fisa, claiming it’s for the good of the country
then we have conyers being pretty darned silent over impeachment
what happened to murtha by the way?
I have up till now been of the suspicion nsa has information to hold over some of our representatives head
but wait a minute;
does that make any sense? I mean what could someone hold over someone’s head to have them put our countries future at peril the way our representatives are putting the country at peril?
here’s a stretch to be sure but something everyone needs to start thinking about I think;
is the country being threatened by the administration to our representatives?
think about that
just think about the possibilities
frightening
I think, even though it is traditional media, the conflict going on at the NYT over David Brooks denying that the Reagan followed the Southern Strategy when he went to Neshoba is worth a look:
Herbert
Krugman
George Simian @ 12
He was always loony. Keep in mind he beat two really bad candidates, David Dinkins and Mark Green. And the he was laughingstock during his second term.
jay at 16 — Yeah, that whole Lee Atwater thing came out of nowhere…ahem.
O.o
egregious @ 8
And end the Great War of Error
Toby Wollin @ 13
where’s that clip of the bush pilot telling how he pilots project bush?
ah, got it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBg9p0cS48U
I wonder if thompson will have a new pilot or the same one project bush uses
Good morning morning folks :)
Good morning all.
The morning news carried factless drivel about the crack cocaine v powder issue. John Roberts of CNN constantly referred to the crack defendants as crack dealers although the incarcerated are mostly users. The mayor of looneyville claims crack users are more violent and should remain in jail.
The sooner the msm fails, the better off we will be.
coffee’s ready – hold out your cups…
wapo article, thru my sleeping eyes, makes the thompson campaign sound like a science experiment or an intellectual exercise…
A little more on the explosion in Manilla on the Beeb. Do we know anymore?
Sir, I would suggest that might be excellent news.
Rather than bogging himself down in America’s civil war going on now, he is joining with those mechanisms that can provide the best opportunity to change the world for the better.
It is too bad, but, as Americans, we need to recognize that as soon as we chose to invade Iraq, when the marketing started, most of the world realized that Americans had ceded the world stage as a leader. Al Gore recognizes this, I believe, and choses to go via other means.
As one Iman said, America is at war with itself. He goes on to state that this GWOT is simply drama queen stuff and he prays the Americans grow up soon. After all, nukes in the hands of a five year-old spoiled brat can be somewhat worrisome.
this is from the Matt Stoller piece — which is worth reading:
One of the reasons I was so nervous [about a speech] is because the first great growth period of purely partisan liberal institution building is over, and we are now confronting the limitations on our power. I don’t know how to tell the story of where we are, because I’m not sure where we are at this moment when our leaders betray us.
Jim Clausen @ 4
Yes. Does Edwards have a strategy to break out of the pack other than nibbling around the edges of Hillary? Time is a wasting.
Good morning everyone. Just heated up a couple of the popovers I made last Sat. during PUAC. 2 left.
I read Stoller’s post yesterday with interest. Where do we go from here is always a big question. Personally, I think we need to get out from behind our keyboards and do some evangelizing—teach more people about the blogs and the info they can find here. And get them involved. We need to grow our numbers exponentially.
katherine Graham Cracker @ 22
off topic;
I saw american gangster last nite, gets 4 out of 4 stars
best line in the movie
“quiting while you’re ahead is not the same as quiting”
mmMmm popovers …
katherine at 22 — The truth of the matter is that crack users and dealers can be very violent. No more so than powder cocaine users on a equally craptastic bender, though. The disparity in sentencing is asinine and is about to be overturned — and it can’t come soon enough.
I’ve prosecuted drug-related murders, assaults, rapes, you name it that occurred while someone was blasted out of their mind on one substance or another. The very sad truth is that a lot of users self-medicate mental illness issues with narcotics and it often goes very wrong. The whole situation is a mess — and if we focused a lot more effort on prevention and getting adequate medical and mental health care for at risk low-level users, then there wouldn’t be a viable market for dealers to target in the first place.
But hey, what in the hell would I know. I’ve only been watching this idiocy firsthand for years. And trying to get clients and then people I prosecuted adequate treatment so we didn’t keep see them coming in through the revolving door. Jeebus, we do everything backwards…
jackie at 24 — I tried to find something useful on that this morning, but came up empty. If anyone sees some factual info, please share a link…
jayackroyd @ 16
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this morning has Brooks’ column (his column appears there weekly), but without Krugman’s column. Nobody in Atlanta will ever know there are two sides to this story (except all you ATL FDLers).
Jim Clausen @ 4
I’d like him to start talking to the American people regularly and honestly. Be as open as possible.
IntelVet @ 25
I agree — I believe once Al Gore got out of the beltway and found “his place” he realized that he has far more flexibility to actually get things done than he ever did in DC.
I think he knows that doing what he is doing now is going to have far more impact not only on individuals but at the global level.
Jim Clausen @ 4
Would you ask them to post a downloadable window or house sign. I think there is a lot of “silent” Edwards supporters who would post a sign or something like that….
Toby Wollin @ 34
I give gore credit but not that much credit
there is no question he could do more as president of the United States of America then he can in any other capacity
I still think he steps in if hilary falls
from the ap
I don’t believe the criminal justice system in this nation cares one hoot about any sort of rehabilitation and treatment. It’s mostly about vengeance and getting people (blacks) off the street.
The Rockefeller drug laws are more than draconian and sent people involved in minor victimless crimes to prison for decades.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 30
Christie, I was talking to one of my neighbors the other evening and she told me of being stationed in Canada while in the Navy and of making friends with a woman who had a teenage son whose behavior had changed radically. My neighbor had done drug counseling for years, and told the lady her son was high. She was met with disbelief at first, but finally the woman began to give the idea some credence, and invited my neighbor to go with her and her son to get him tested. Turns out that ANY parent can get a free drug test for their child for free in Canada AT ANY TIME! Most parents would love to have that tool.
Did anyone see this yesterday about the infant mortality rate in Memphis?
“A 2002 federal report put this city at the top of the list for infant deaths in American cities: 692 dead babies over a four-year span, a rate of more than 15 deaths for every 1,000 births, more than twice the U.S. average.
Broken down by ZIP code, centering on the poorest places in this very poor city, there are spots where babies die at a higher rate than they do in some Third World countries.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21655131/
For anyone familiar with SCHIP — is there anything in there for prenatal care? Or again, are we dealing with problems after the fact?
quick question before I head off to work to read the answer later
check out this lead from think progress and then my question to follow;
so what happens when bush does not preserve the emails even thought the court orderd him to?
nothing, right?
just like when meyers defied subpeona?
Gore is afraid for his life. He knows that real populists are not long for this earth. MLK, John Lennon, JFK, MalcolmX and so one
From CNN’s Political Ticker “24 Creator: Clinton as President is ‘nuts’”
And teh stoopid it burnz yeszzz!
OT – i’m a little late with this morning’s list of congressional hearings… it’s just ready to upload now…
thursday is the rescheduled SJC meeting on FISA legislation (this time i will call c-span the day before, and if there is no video coverage, ask them to check out the audio line so we have it the day of the hearing).
as soon as the new list is uploaded, i’ll post the summary and links in this thread.
thank you for your patience.
They’ll delete the emails with no consequence. They know that the law can’t touch them. They proved it time and again.
It’s too late for Gore even if Hillary falls. States are already printing their primary ballots.
A committee of state legislators in Florida drew up the final primary ballot slates here. The Dem leader of the state house called Gore and asked him if he wanted to be on, and Gore said no. It’s too late.
Unless there’s a deadlocked convention…
Christy Hardin Smith @ 18
Well yesterday they ran a letter:
So *I* wrote a letter, including the atwater quote, and asked them why they had to be so coy and backhanded about this, and asked for a correction in Brooks’ column. Atwater refers directly to Reagan in that quote; Brooks is clearly false to fact in his column.
Also, I think it is worth writing to editors at these papers, looking for the three part series on how the republicans will signal to racists this time around.
It’s a central part of their campaign strategy–at least as important on remembering to tip staff at diners–and deserves coverage.
We saw a preview her in NY in the runup to last Tuesday’s election. This time around it is going to be illegal immigrants. There were anonymous flyers featuring brown people in turbans in mocked-up NYS driver’s licenses.
quick thought if you don’t mind;
now that he has subpoena power, why on earth is conyers NOT re opening the downing street minutes?
the same things applies to the pot laws as well
they are just an excuse to hassle people
Here is one who questions that assertion, me!
One could only make such a statement as you made if one assumed a unitary president.
By entering a pseudo-corporate environment, Mr. Gore can gain a much more effective voice without having to deal with partisan politics, and, his political baggage, in part because of his prior and ineffective countering of right-wing smears.
“By entering a pseudo-corporate environment, Mr. Gore can gain a much more effective voice without having to deal with partisan politics, and, his political baggage, in part because of his prior and ineffective countering of right-wing smears. “
He’s like Jimmy Carter…just skipped the actually being president part…but more effective out of office than in
SanderO at 38 — As someone who once worked in the criminal justice system of the US, day in and day out with a whole host of other people who were doing the same damn thing, that is a load of hooey. I worked with a lot of cops and other prosecutors and social workers and judges and probation officers, all of whom were constantly trying to come up with better prevention measures.
Trust me when I say the last thing anyone wants is to see someone back in court again. But there are no adequate preventative measures available for the long haul to overcome hideously inadequate and outright abusive parenting from people who were addicted while the child was in the womb or utterly unresponsive to the child once it was born. Or for kids who have little to no adult supervision from the time they are tiny — either through benign neglect, low information, or parents who have to work far too many jobs to make ends meet with no access to decent childcare. When you toss in sexual abuse, physical and mental abuse…the list goes on and on, and a lot of it goes directly back to untreated mental illness, medical conditions, inadequate social intervention resources, and on and on and on…
I could keep going for weeks on how much people who work in criminal justice work — people who really DO the work — try to do to prevent problems and to address already existing ones in families that we had seen for generations in the system. And honestly, that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.
The disparity in setencing guidelines for powder versus crack came about because of idiotic puffery from politicians and inadequate pushback from people in this country. So if you are looking for a scapegoat for the shit policies that get foisted on all of us, we can all start by looking in the mirror and asking ourselves why we didn’t do more to stop it in the first place.
re Edwards~ ask him if he’d give up the imperial presidency and put better checks & balances in
And it was nice to see this letter to the NYT from an old online friend:
Knew him at http://www.themote.com, a group blog founded before there were blogs. Really just a collection of themed comment sections.
It’s funny, too, because back in the day there were both conservative and liberal points of view there. I just checked back and one of the conservatives is still around.
David Niewart and AceOfSpades both used to post there, back in the day.
Ace hated me. I was one of the administrators, and he just called me the foulest names.
Some are calling this our alternative national anthem. I agree. I’m taking the cd to work this morning and am gonna play this song REAL LOUD so the deaf wingers can hear it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTW0y6kazWM
Christy Hardin Smith @ 9
The piece *is* about the campaign, not the candidate. It’s part of the WaPo’s big series on political consultants called “The Gurus.”
JF @ 32
Krugman’s is a blog post, so it wouldn’t part of that syndication. You might post a link in the A J-C comment area. Krugman does a very nice takedown.
And perhaps we will see some movement on energy policy soon:
“There’s a general perception outside of Washington that we haven’t done near what we could to move the country to a more acceptable energy mix,” said Senator Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico and chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “Congress has been slow to act, and the administration has been slow to act, and the public is way ahead of us on these issues.”
No s**t, brother. Way ahead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11…..ref=slogin
Christy,
I am not saying that there are no people in the criminal justice system who want to help offenders turn their lives around. But the fact is that we incarcerate more people per capita than any nation in the world. We still have capital punishment and prisons which actually torture people aside from gitmo.
This is not hooey. These are facts.
What is the prison industrial complex about? rehabilitation or warehousing human beings for profit?
Jim Clausen at 4
I’d ask him if there is anything we can do to help him get more coverage. He certainly seems to be getting the opposite of whatever you call what McCain gets. And it doesn’t seem fair that in order to get the same coverage that Obama and Clinton get, he essentially has to win Iowa.
This is particularly weird, given that he was the VP candidate last time around. (And, no, no Lieberman jokes, please.)
RevDeb @ 27
I’ve sorta noticed that the Speaker conference calls have vanished, post election. This is a difficult problem. It’s pretty cleat that we are going to have to build our own institutions so that, sad to say, we can threaten to withhold funds and support.
Oh, somewhere else, on what may seem like a tangent, I read that Al Wynn’s district is next to Steny Hoyer’s. That would explain a lot….
SanderO — You said:
Which is a fairly blanket statement with no room for caveats or people who gave a shit about making things better. You don’t want me to call bullshit on it, then don’t make inaccurate, sweeping generalizations that call into question the very difficult work, day in and day out, that people who work in the system do.
As ET, who used to be a probation officer, how hard it is to get anything going for your probationers when you have far too few resources. Or any number of our other readers who have been cops, prosecutors, social workers and such, how many hours of the day they spent trying to find anything — anything — to help the people that they were prosecuting.
I will tolerate a lot of BS in the comments. But inaccurate, sweeping generalizations about law enforcement is not one of them. It’s not a perfect system, not by a long shot, but unless and until you have worked the 16 hour days and had to face the families of people killed in a senseless murder, or the parents of a child who was raped, or the family of some juvenile kid who went violently astray trying to find some way to pick up his pieces and put him back together into a whole again…then I’ll thank you not to insinuate that there are no people in the system who don’t work their asses off to make your community a safer and better place.
And yes, that came off a little grumpy. I’m running on about 3 1/2 hours of sleep, as The Peanut was running a nasty fever last night. So apologies to all and sundry if my sunny disposition is less than sunny this morning…
SanderO @ 60
I can’t speak for Christy, SanderO, but it seems to me you are talking past her. Just like Rockefeller laws were not the work of the caseworkers and the prosecutors, the nature of prisons are not their work either.
That politicians use these “law and order” legislation to appeal to the baser parts of their base has nothing to do with how the people who are forced to work within those laws operate.
sorry to hear about the peanut, it’s a good thing her mommy is right there beside her, no better medicine than that.
Hugs for the peanut and her mommy – little ones with temps need lots of lovin’. I have vivid memories of ear infections with my kids and that was always very very scary.
(((((Momma and Peanut)))))
Grumpy @ 64, you’re entitled *g*.
Those of us in the caregiving biz will have your back all the way…especially when fevers come into play.
Waccamaw caught my flyby comment yesterday on the water user in Atlanta from ABC nightly. CNN had some more on the subject this morning: Atlanta developers, gotta do it, good for biz…
The real issue oughta be not what can we get away with…but what makes each of us a good global citizen and steward of the planet. Yeah, I’m lookin’ at you, too, Las Vegas. Let’s all dial back the sprinklers and fountains and country club lawns. Stewardship…it feels good.
Prairie Sunshine @ 69
Yesterday afternoon, CNN had a video clip on it from one of the local stations in Atlanta and gave the owner’s name at the tail end of it.
Here’s an interesting piece from Bloomberg about anti-war folks and their frustration with the Beltway. Thought it would be of interest for a lot of folks here.
From the WaPo story on Thompson’s advisor:
“Helped deliver Nixon the election”? I don’t recall 1972 being so close that the under-30s put Tricky Dick over the top.
But back to that bit about Watergate . . .
This whole piece reads like the political equivalent of a music reviewer discussing Paris Hilton’s latest release.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 64 –
christy, i can sympathise. last few months, if i get 6 hours i’m estatic. at less than 4, i find my patience and irritation threshold are both significantly diminished. here’s hoping you get caught up soon.
selise at 73 — I’m just hoping for a nap today. *g* And immensely grateful for coffee. The good news is that the fever has passed, and we’re down to a manageable chunky cough at this point. So it will be lots of Pooh Bear and stories, and hopefully we can both catch a little sleep this afternoon…
The childishness of Republican sophistry literally makes me puke. Case in point, David Rivkin, an official at the Justice Department in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administration and alleged expert on military law:
This shit reminds me of sophomores sitting around their dorm rooms trying to find the most absurd arguments they can pick so that they can continue putting their homework out of their minds. Such an argument is not worthy of a grown man, let alone an expert in military law and a former White House official.
And, just for the record, the definition of torture has a “purpose” component that doesn’t apply to torture-resistance training. For instance, the UN Convention Against Torture, which is a ratified treaty of the U.S. and thus the supreme law of the land by Article VI, defines torture to be:
Torture-resistance training is not such a purpose. Jeez, these people are full of shit.
Good morning all;
The ‘War on Drugs’ was the ‘practice run’ for all subsequent ‘Wars’ upon reason.
No one would dream of questioning a ‘War’ on ‘bad’, drug-using ‘criminals’ – so the next ‘targets’ MUST be equally ‘evil’.
Where was this scenario played out before?
Oh wait! Such things could NEVER happen here…
Throughout this drug ‘War’, the language used by politicians and ‘opinion shapers’ has been such that few would dare risk challenging the perceived ‘wisdom’, and any who tried were vilified and attacked. The first appeals, if you remember, were to fear. This ‘War’ had its origins in the nineteen-thirties, under the direction of Anslinger, and it was primarily directed at the black population, who often preferred marijuana to alcohol, both for its price and for its effect.
Anslinger successfully ’sold’ the notion that blacks, crazed by the ‘demon weed’ would burst from their ghettos and ravage all right-thinking God-fearing (white) ‘muricans, leaving bloody trails of madness and destruction. By the sixties, this society was primed and ready to accept such appeals to mindlessness. If there were those in law enforcement who opposed this trend, and certainly there were a few, their voices, which might have helped open the minds of their fellow citizens, were extremely muted and very cautious. No politicians, not one, for many decades, stood against this trend toward glib, shallow and self-serving ‘Warfare’.
weekly congressional hearings update: from the list, here are a few that look especially interesting.
Tuesday, 2:30 pm – Senate Intelligence
Open Hearing: Congressional Oversight
Wednesday, 10 am – Senate Judiciary
To hold hearings to examine accountability for human rights violators in the United States.
Wednesday, 10 am – House Ways and Means
Hearing on Impact of Gaps in Health Coverage on Income Security
Wednesday, 10 am – House Oversight and Government Reform
Hearing: Assessing the State Department Inspector General
Thursday, 9:30 am – Senate Armed Services
To receive testimony on the state of the United States Army.
Witnesses:
Honorable Preston M. “Pete” Geren, III, Secretary, United States Army
General George W. Casey, Jr., USA, Chief of Staff, United States Army
Thursday, 10 am – House Armed Services
Hearing on strategic communications and countering ideological support for terrorism.
Thursday, 10 am – Senate Judiciary
Business meeting: S. 2248, to amend the FISA and other matters.
see the complete list for scores more hearing scheduled for this week.
{{{peanut & mommy}}} — here’s some virtual chicken soup your way.
On Thompson — I think the line between leader and celebrity grew fuzzy with Reagan, but Thompson is totally over that line. Hopefully that comes across more to the general public than I think. I worry that the prez election ends up being one big episode of Survivor.
On drug abusers & sentencing — I’ve seen so many cases where mental illness and non-compliance with meds turns bad — prevention really needs to be on politicians’ radar. With all of the returning vets with PTSD, we really need to get a handle on the state of mental health treatment or a lot more lives will be touched by this than are even now.
wigwam — Yes, the fact that it was torture-resistance training made it all the more asinine. I suppose the folks who go through DO training at Quantico and undergo kidnapping, toture resistance and other physical and mental abuse resistance training are just having a tea party for the hell of it.
And Cillizza has something new up saying that Thompson’s poll numbers are sinking faster than Big Pussy in the cement shoes episode of Sopranos.
Christy,
I am not saying there are not people in the justice system who are trying to make things better. I am saying that the system is so flawed that effectively it amounts to warehousing human beings… and there is little re hab going on.
You can defend those who work to change the system etc. but there is a lot of shit going down and it is damn broken I am sorry to say.
The Fortune Society http://www.fortunesociety.org/…..ssion.html
is one organization trying to help. Please don’t think I am painting it with a broad brush, but the system we have is damn broken.
And that’s a privately funded group… not part of the justice system.
Can you deny that the death penalty is unfair, that people have received incompetent counsel, ended up in jail for decades? It’s people like Barry Schecht who are revealing how broken the system is.
selise @ 77
So selise, have you heard the ACLU is suing for a third torture memo from Gonzo? Unbelievable.
coming up on CSPAN 1 homeland security contracts discussion
and at 10 a government loan fraud is topic of senate small business committee on CSPAN 3
Haven’t seen this covered yet this morning:
From http://slate.com/blogs/blogs/t…..fifth.aspx
That would make for an interesting twist in the R race.
“outsourcing homeland security discussion” is more accurate
Christy Hardin Smith @ 71
It’d be a tickle if Sheehan beat Pelosi in the primary.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 79
Whenever people talk about SERE, one should remember that the techniques that were being used by the North Koreans and others were not intended to get information from the captive soldiers. They were used, as they have been used since the Inquisition, to elicit false confessions.
Torture is not about intelligence. It is about asserting authoritarian control over a group of people, terrorizing them into submission. That’s what Saddam Hussein used it for, and that is the only reason (of state) to do it.
It’s hard to see who the US wants to assert authoritarian control over–unless you’re as worried as Naomi Wolf is.
Elliott @ 82
Blackwater?
Hi Christy,
I just want to pass along a link to an essay by Richard Behan on AtlanticFreePress.com, that I think is well worth reading, or even cross-posting: The Treason of the Mainstream Democrats. Food for thought.
Hope your little one is better today.
mui @ 87
contracting throughout homeland security not the Iraq War
the guest is the staff writer at Congressional Quarterly, will get link to article
mui @ 85
I think we should get behind her, with no doubt impeachment goes back on the table and the entire democratic party understands that it IS a mandate
Elliott @ 89
Yes but New Orleans?
Elliott @ 84
homeland gravytrain
perris @ 90
Sheehan has made herself pretty clear on that.
It looks like you need a subscription to get the article right now
Congressional Quarterly
Gonzales takes his lies on the road
Gonzales is starting on the lecture circuit. What the story in the local paper doesn’t mention is that he’s getting 40 grand–of student fees!–for his University of Florida speech. I’m trying to organize people to stop it. If you want to help, contact the UF speaker’s bureau and tell them to stop it.
Tel: 352-392-1665 ext. 306
Fax: 352-392-8072
accent@sg.ufl.edu
cleter @ 95
Maybe someone can ask him about his third torture memo.
Along the lines of the USA scandal here is a piece in the Des Moines Register: Link
The target of the investigation and ultimate indictment is Iowa’s only openly homosexual state legislature. The USA in this case is a “Evangelical Christian”. I guess for loyal bushies it is OK to withhold evidence and lie to the court to put away the evil gay people. More Right Wing logic uncovered.
eCAHNomics @ 83
That strategy worked like a champ for Lieberman in 2004. His non-winning confounded his opponents and swept him right into the White House!
Or not.
The Guliani campaign is weird. He would do much better if not for the troublesome voting.
EvanfromCT @ 88
Excellent! Succinct, undeniable and should be broadcast as widely as possible. Thank you for this link!
Oh, let us all rejoice at the competence that is Ahmed Chalabi in charge of the restoration of infrastructure in Iraq. No, I’m not kidding…he’s really in charge of it these days. Everything old is new again. Why am I not surprised?
mui @ 81
no, i haven’t. unbelievable.
i really hard time this weekend getting around to making the hearings list – i’m still so pissed off about the mukasey nomination. good thing i had the august recess break after the FISA PAA this summer – i think i would have given it up for good.
well, now that the hearings list is up, now it’s time to make more coffee and start my phone calls. (while hanging out a fdl, of course *g*)
Anybody got a question they want me to ask Gonzo? Assuming they allow questions, of course. Which they probably won’t.
cleter @ 98
Yes, that’s the point. I’ve been keeping an eye out for how Ghouliani’s hubris will get him into trouble, and this is the first I’ve noticed.
selise @ 101
I’ve been suffering from a kind of depressive slump on all this. I’m trying to fortify myself.
cleter @ 102
Yes ACLU can’t find the link, cause my email is down. Third Torture memo by Gonzo truly.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 100
Hey, if the White House could bring back the old Nixon crew of Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Fred Fielding, why not bring back Chalabi for Iraq?
Christy Hardin Smith @ 100
It almost feels like La times has turned into the onion. Surreal.
eCAHNomics @ 103
He doesn’t have the temperment to even be a outside NYC candidate if you ask me. One question about ferrets and voom . . .
mui @ 108
His appeal is to the authoritarian block of the R party, i.e. to the whole party. Against that is the chance that he’ll blow himself up.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 100
Classic “blergh”
eCAHNomics @ 109
it’s frightening to me that he can be as popular as he is.
egregious @ 110
Happy Daze are here again!!
eCAHNomics @ 109
A ferret plant?
mui @ 113
I don’t understand your comment.
mui @ 113
How about a ferret-thee-well Party?!!
I am reading Susan Faludi’s new book. Interesting facet she explores, and much needed. With Michiko Kakutani’s review on mind, knowing how influential she is, I am thinking of writing a letter, because Kakutani really not only tried to shoot Faludi down, but she ignores stuff in her review that Faludi brought up and addressed. I think Kakutani didn’t really, really read the book.
eCAHNomics @ 114
Oh sorry. I guess I am always looking for humor in this sad state of affairs and the campaign for the presidency. I have visions of thousands of ferrets being unleashed at a Ghouliani event. And noone would understand why Ghouliani is raging over the cute little buggers.
Fresh post up and running from Jane…
Christy,
You asked what was on our plates today. I am about 1/3 of the way into Kevin Phillips’ American Theocracy. Yeah, I know, I’m a little behind on things.
Thus far, Phillips has made it very clear that:
1. the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq is a new chapter in the history of resource wars;
2. it is not an accident that plans to invade Iraq were framed up early in this (mal)administration;
3. all of the garbage we fed about WMD and ‘that man tried to kill my Daddy’ and making Iraq safe for democracy is cover for the resource reason;
4. Iraq is likely the largest lightly tapped oil source left and is coveted by every oil company on the planet.
5. the Rapture Right is a big part of the problem.
In short, those who said, “It’s about oil, not WMD” were right all along. It is nothing we didn’t already know, but Phillips has put the documentation in place.
On a brighter note, I just finished reading Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains, a biography of Paul Farmer. Farmer is a Harvard-trained infectious disease specialist and medical anthropologist who has made Haiti his life’s work. Along the way, he has had to make TB and HIV world-wide his work, too. It’s very inspiring and highly recommended.
BC
Jim Clausen @ 4
Several foreign policy questions, no softballs. but real toughies that will test his Presidential mettle.
Israel~
Does Edwards really think that Ariel Sharon was courageous?
Does Edwards really feel that Israel is justified in invading its neighbors every time a non-governmental actor attacks them from across the border…even to the point of attacking areas far from the actual points of attack, including the capitols of these sovereign nations.
Does Edwards believe that the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, having been occupied for almost 40 years (two generations), deserve some representation in the Israeli Parliament and other rights as Israeli citizens…at least until they have been granted sovereignity by the Israelis in their own independent state?
Does Edwards really believe that Israel should be allowed membership in NATO, as he stated at the Herliya Conference? Would they have to make any concessions to the UN Resolutions regarding the Palestinian State and International Rule of Law in order for Edwards to support that?
IRAQ~ Edwards stated withdrawal strategy from Iraq would retain one full brigade in the country to protect reconstruction projects and the Vatican-sized embassy complex, in addition to strike forces outside the country that would be used to re-enter the country if conditions deteriorated or to attack al Qaida?
How many brigades would be based in Kuwait? Would they be allowed to re-establish camps and bases in the country if this assisted their military operations…or would they have to withdraw on a daily basis?
Please reiterate the reasons Edwards reversed his position on Iraq from the time he supported the 2002 War Powers Authorization Resolution. IOW WHY did he support it then, when all the evidence was publically accessible to doubt the reliability of the Presidents assertions regarding WMD’s, active terrorist involvement, etc.?
Why would an experienced politician be so gullible?
IRAN~ Mr. Edwards said at the Herzliya Conference “To ensure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons, we need to keep ALL options on the table, Let me reiterate – ALL options must remain on the table.” Does Senator Edwards really adamantly refuse to take “no options off the table” when it comes to Iran? Even the pre-emptive first strike use of nuclear weapons? Occupation? “Shock-and-awe” style air and missile bombardment?
Since Senator Edwards expects Iran to hold to the “international rule of law”, does he also hold that the Nuclear Powers have an obligation to signatories of the Non-Proliferation Treaty to allow and assist signatories to develop nuclear power? that’s in the treaty…one that is the “rule of law”?
Does he accept the doctrine of “pre-emptive attacks” when there is no immediate threat directly posed to our nations people? Would he oppose the United States attacking Iran in that manner? Would he allow Israel to attack another nation under such a doctrine if those attacks required overflights of airspace controlled by the US military?
Mr. Edwards told the Herzliya Conference earlier this year that he
“would not want to say in advance what we would do (regarding Iran), and what I would do as president, but there are other steps that need to be taken…For example, we need to support direct engagement with Iranians, we need to be tough. But I think it is a mistake strategically to avoid engagement with Iran….The vast majority of people are concerned about what is going on in Iraq. This will make the American people reticent toward going for Iran. But I think the American people are smart if they are told the truth, and if they trust their president. So Americans can be educated to come along with what needs to be done with Iran.”
Why doesn’t Senator Edwards want to clearly state what he would do as President regarding Iran? Especially since that would “educate Americans” as to whether they feel he is going to embroil them in another conflict based upon claims of a “threat to Israel and the US”, WMD’s, and “sponsors of terrorism”? Other candidates have clarified their positions on this issue (to their disfavor)…so why won’t he?
Does he believe that the US and Europe should attempt to negotiate with the current leadership in Iran regarding their nuclear activities? Or does he insist upon those leaders making mandatory concessions a priori before he will negotiate with them? Won’t making such pre-conditions essentially lock Iran out, thus increasing their desire for a deterrent nuclear weapon? Or will he wait years before meeting with them until they make statements regarding “Israels and Jewish rights”?
DARFUR~ Does Edwards support US military forces being used to assist humanitarian and African Union stabilization forces in Darfur?
CHINA~ What is Edwards position on Taiwan? Does he support a move to Independance or do you believe that China has sovereign claims to the island?
Pakistan~ Does he support the immediate reimposition of the Constitution and Parliamentary government there? Does he support a rapid move to free elections with all major candidates allowed to campaign and receive votes? What would he do to prevent the loss of Pakistans nuclear weapons capability from falling into the hands of terrorists or rogue states?
Does he believe that the USA should more strongly support the Democracy movement in Myanmar? In what ways?
Political Influence~ What is Edwards’ position on foreign nations increasingly being involved in the purchase of US assets and liquidity? Does he feael that the influx of foreign investment in certain sectors has an adverse impact on the US political process?
Senator Edwards has criticized other candidates for having substantial amounts of contributions from lobbyists? At the same time much of his political support comes from large legal firms (often involved in lobbying), major Wall Street financial houses, and Hedge Funds. How are these different from other lobbyists and special interests in terms of influencing the political process?
BTW Curiously the link to Edwards’ speech at the website for the Herzliya appears to have either been pulled or hacked within the last day (since I linked to it last night and it worked then).
I’m wondering if his National Campaign Manager has requested that the link be pulled down,or knows why that link has been removed?
I have had to link to another site in order to give you the full, in context, transcript. Edwards Speech To Herzliya Conference- 2007
I recommend the story about how the wars have cost the average American family $20,000, which doesn’t even factor in the depreciation of the dollar by a third (and counting). Something to remember the next time some asshole laments the lack of “shared sacrifice”, as David Obey did recently.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21766479/
cinammonape:
Oh God, don’t remind us of the prostrations of the candidates at the Herzliyah conference. By way of comparison, take a look at the speech Peres gave there.
It’d be a tickle if Sheehan beat Pelosi in the primary.
Sheehan is not running in the Democratic primary
She is running as an independent
Thanks for the Talking Dog link with the Rayner interview. Looks like they have a long list of other interviews as well.
OldCoastie @ 23
I thought it sounded like that program “Big Brother”…or perhaps the one where they switch wives/mothers into a new family. It was absolutely loony toons! And even wierder was that the whole planning was done by a bunch of people who really were so unprofessional off of a kitchentop.
It suggests that as long as a person is a celebrity they can run for office…not win, mind you…but be considered seriously by the MSM!
Hey maybe Jerry Seinfeld should run!
Morning rant :)
This taken from the Bloomberg link,
“We haven’t been effective in ending the war in Iraq,” Pelosi told reporters Nov. 1. “If you asked me in a phone call, as ardent a Democrat as I am, I would disapprove of Congress as well.”
Well M. Speaker, ‘as ardent a Democrat as I am’. Why are you not really doing anything about it then?
And, As an American citizen who (because of her position) has a far ‘clearer’ view of the ‘facts’,
Why is SHE not out in front leading the fight for this Country and its Constitution?
Is she, a Patriot or a Traitor? time to chose.
Re; the Cindy Sheenan challenge.
Cindy, in a real way, is ‘the face and name’ of the many many ‘unheard and unseen’ who do live in the real world. She’s pissed, we’re pissed And, maybe she doesn’t win, but the roar created by all ‘the little folks’ is definitely beginning to get her attention (along with all the other ‘pols’ who feeling the ‘heat’).
Re; the moving up of various Primaries; Was that because ‘The Man’ was afraid if given too much longer ‘the people’ would organize and chose/support their own choices?
dakine01 @ 43
Yeah, just nuts! A woman? A former President’s wife? It’s never happened before!!! And she’s only a two term Senator that’s only happened a half dozen times! Preposterous!
It’s almost a ridiculous as a former mayor with no Federal or Governor experience being elected President.
Oh wait! The 24 idiot supports Giuliana…
Gore is completely sane for not running.This country s*** on him once and nothing has changed.To ask a legitimate winner of an election,after the nation didn’t rise up to stop the fraud, to run again would be like asking someone to make a complete fool of himself for our entertainment.Black box voting is worse then we care to admit.I believe we have a veto proof majority of democrats elected last time although the vote count didn’t reflect the truth.Can’t prove it ,doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
SanderO @ 60
No business wants to create a system that puts itself out of business. Rehabilitation, if successful, would make commercial prisons about as necessary as an oil companies that revealed how to convert an automobile engine that runs on water.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 71
I read this one Christy and got thinking about how the netroots could make more of an effective protest regarding this. In essence we have to decide what would be an effective message to the Party and its leadership on this point and others.
I’d suggest a total boycott in support for Blue Dogs except perhaps for a vote in the General Election. No money, no campaign assistance, no signs, nada. No money to the DSCC and DCC ~ only to “progressive” campaigns. Let the Emmanuels come to grips with the impact of losing the foot-soldiers and crowds come home to roost.
Lot’s of support for challengers in the Primaries who are progressive over those who have failed to deliver.
Yes, there may be some seats lost to the Republicans…but I suspect that these can be balanced out overall by gains in the progressive camp. Even a loss of a Blue Dog seat in Congress actually benefits the strengthening of progressives within the Party.
That’s because Blue Dogs tend to vote with the Pugs anyways AND INTERNALLY they draw the party itself to the Right in Caucuses.
Every Blue Dog or DiFi INCREASES the pull to the rightwing in the party, resulting in decisions that are impotent. It maintains party leadership in power who are willing to compromise with these ten or so Senators….and 25 or so Congressmen. Change that balance within the party and the leadership will be compelled to change or be removed.
So the goal is to push all our resources into progressive campaigns…and let them know that we are doing precisely that until the Blue Dogs realize that they need progressive support as well to win. Even if there’s only 10% progressives in their district…even 5%…they won’t win without our support.
Jim Clausen @ 4
Tell them that they need to have some local Democrat speak to the crowd if they have to wait to see the candidate (or get a local musician/band to keep the crowd entertained). The last time Edwards was in Central Ohio, things were supposed to start at 5:30pm. In reality it was closer to 7pm.
Some of us came to the meeting straight from work — which meant no time for supper. During that time the crowd was waiting, it seems Mr. Edwards had gone to dinner.
It’s not fun to wait when there’s nothing to do and no food nearby, and lunch was more than 4 hours ago…
BTW, Fred Thompson just picked up the endorsement of the National Right to Life (committee? party”) What’s up with THAT?
brendan @ 122
Sadly Shimon Peres isn’t eligible for US President. He is a paragon of wisdom and hope. And reasonableness.
But the speeches of all the US Presidential candidates that presented there (Edwards, Giuliani, Romney, Gingerich, McCain) were almost cut from the same cloth. Most of the American contingent at Herzliya were far to the right of Peres. The tub-thumping about Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, the Palestinians…was certainly not restricted to Edwards, I admit. But Hillary and Obama didn’t opt to show, even with a Satellite speech.
Bush sent over several mouthpieces like Spellings, Gordon England, Nicolas Burns. As well an assortment of Neocons and other loons..Robert Einhorn, Richard Perle, Adm. James “CIA” Woolsey, Alan “Waterboard” Dershowitz, “race scientist” Charles Murray, showed to offer their wisdom on T.W.A.T.
And the Israeli Rightwing was in plentiful supply: Benjamin Netanyahu, Dore Gold, Abraham Abramowitz, Natan Sharansky.
Hardly the company I’d once have expected Edwards to want to be associated with.